Taken for Granted
by Alumina
Summary: After an encounter with Team Rocket Lance is rendered temporarily without his abilities or Pokemon and is forced to ask Yellow to get them back, unaware of Team Rocket's true plan. I do not own Pokemon. I do not own the picture.
1. Chapter 1

**I know I have five or six other fanfictions and oneshots that are Pokemon or not I should be working right now, but I want to start posting this. If I get this finished, than I'll have a little more time for the others. Everything else will still be slow to be updated due to the fact I'm concentrating on another special project.**

**If you see any mistakes let me know.**

**As of August 4th 2013, not even five months after this was posted, this had 1049+ views.**

**As of September 9th 2013, six months after this was posted, this had 1207+ views.**

**Thank you to everyone who has read this that got it this far.**

Lance watched his Pokemon with spar with critical attention. At any second there could be a flaw that would have to be fixed in either how they attacked or defended against an attack. This deep part of the Viridian Forest that few could get to was one of his secret training grounds, as it had a mix of terrains such as this part of the forest having trees closely gathered together. A single word would make his Pokemon stop.

Every few seconds he scanned the forest with his mind, reading the thoughts of the Pokemon to make sure no one unexpected was coming, and to check for unwanted Trainers capturing a Pokemon in the areas of the forest that were protected to keep the Pokemon safe. Unfortunately one of those Pokemon would wander into the commonly traveled spots and sometimes would get captured.

That didn't happen unless the Pokemon had a good reason to be there, such as several years back when a Kanghaskhan had only wanted to get some Pecha Berries for her sick baby and ended up getting attacked by a Trainer with a Charmander. Another Trainer had helped her baby by giving it man-made medicine. Since then she'd been a little more careful when travelling around.

He scanned again and frowned. Several humans were moving towards his position. He recognized the mainly black uniforms as Team Rocket's. His Pokemon stopped and looked over at him. He recalled them, save Aerodactyl. The gray prehistoric pterodactyl-like Pokemon flew the short distance to his side. If it had to it would get him out of there before Team Rocket would have much of a change to do anything.

If that didn't work he had to run for it… The only escape routes were the direction of which they were coming and a small hidden path that lead to the part of the forest that grew the Viridian Forest Flowers. _Wonderful_. That would be a last resort, as it would be near-impossible for them to defeat them at their low level of experience. When choosing "strong" members, Team Rocket made poor choices.

He waited as they approached, from what he could tell out of the small group of seven only two of the members would actually be able to put up at least somewhat of a fight. One of them had a bag, the contents worrying him slightly as the Pokemon living in the area watching were concerned. Those Pokemon had evaded Trainers long enough to know when a bag contained Pokeballs or not by recognizing the energy signal the capture spheres gave off. The bag didn't have those.

The group was speaking, though too quiet for him to hear clearly from the distance between them and the hiding Pokemon. A Pikachu was near, watching and following warily. Lance sent a telepathic message to it, telling it to follow a little closer and listen. The Pokemon understood and darted between trees and bushes for cover; close enough to hear what the group was saying.

"-trains near here. He'll be useful to the project."

"What if he doesn't listen?"

"It might interest him enough to hear what the boss has to say."

"And if not?"

"We'll have to force him to come with us. We've got air support so can't escape that way."

"Are you even sure he's here?"

"Of course. Our members in Viridian have seen him."

That didn't make sense. He'd woken before dawn while it was still dark out… He didn't even _live_ in Viridian... Well, he'd heard enough. He waited until he saw the group before he began to approach them, Aerodactyl walking behind him.

"If you want to live I suggest you leave."

"Our boss wants to speak with you with something only you would be able to help with." _Someone_ favored with word "with".

"And if I say now?" Aerodactyl could just get him out of there after an Agility and Double Team.

One of the members opened the bag she had, bringing out a blue flower with a delicate appearance. That delicate look was highly deceiving to the misinformed. "You recognize this, don't you?"

"I'm not scared of it." Just keep it at that distance and the wind didn't change direction…

"We know the affects of it. I'm sure you wouldn't want to experience it personally." She played with a small spray bottle in one hand.

All she needed was a fast Pokemon or a Psychic-type…. "Are you going to come willingly or not?"

Aerodactyl shifted next to him warily. "I might." He recalled the Pokemon. Now the Team Rocket member that was moving behind them had no reason to- something hit his shoulder, immediately knocking him out.

**Reviews will encourage me to work on this more.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Posting another chapter unusually early.**

Lance slowly woke, looking at his surroundings. He was in a small room and tied up. The room had little in it, but form the vibe the walls gave off of fear and pain, he knew this was an old lab that was hidden in the forest. His Pokemon were still with him, too.

Was this some kind of joke? Who kidnapped a person, took them to a "secret" place they already knew about, and didn't take away their Pokemon? Not only that, his hands weren't tied behind his back. Were a bunch of idiots pretending to be Team Rocket trying to scare him up to this? He hit at the knot, loosening it.

The door to the room opened, letting dim light stream in. Lance narrowed his eyes at seeing the former Team Rocket Admin Second-In-Command. "What do you want, Gray?"

"Nothing much. I'm sure you were told I need you for a project. It concerns a Pokemon called Latios." He walked in front of Lance, smirking. Shadows covered his eyes.

"Don't waste time telling me about a Pokemon I already know of."

"That makes it much easier, than. I need for you to find and tame it."

Lance remained expressionless. "Make me."

Gray frowned. "You _will_ help me."

"Give me a good reason."

"To get revenge on Giovanni."

"I thought it was _you_ that betrayed Team Rocket by trying to turn everyone against him."

"I would have _saved_ those members. Look, either you will help me or I will have to force you."

"Pokemon Hypnosis doesn't work on me. You tried that the last time you asked me to get a Pokemon for you. A Weedle, wasn't it?"

Gray ignored that and laughed softly. "Always try to be a few steps ahead, don't you? Not this time." He pulled an object out of his pocket, taking the cover off.

"You think a little needle is a threat? I know it won't kill me; you need me alive."

"It's made from the nectar of the Viridian Forest Flower." His smile widened at Lance twitching uncomfortably at the name. "Face this or find Latios."

"You want to find _It_, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." His poorly masked expression and tone said otherwise. Of course Gray did, why else would he want to capture him? If he managed to control It…. Distracted by those thoughts, Lance didn't notice Gray moving closer.

Lance flinched as the content of the needle was injected into his shoulder. The nectar at least didn't have the sedative affects the scent and pollen did. Instead it – Dang it.

He glared up at Gray.

"What? You were taking too long. I'll be back in a few hours. Be ready to help find Latios." He left, closing the door behind him.

Yeah right. Lance finished loosening to knot and untied the rope that bound his feet together. He stood up and checked the door, finding it unlocked.

Maybe Gray had been kicked out of Team Rocket just for not being that bright at times. No one was around and there were no security cameras. Not only that, he'd been "locked" in a room just a short distance away from the exit. A voice in the back of his mind whispered "this is too easy" as he escaped. Whether it was easy or just luck, he didn't know or really care at the moment. He had to get well out of there before- just a meter or so before the safety of the dense clusters of trees he was hit by an intense dizzy spell just before passing out.

**I have chapter three fully written, too. I might post that tomorrow. I'm still working on chapter four.**


	3. Chapter 3

Lance blinked a few times, slowly waking up. His surroundings were unfamiliar, yet from what he could tell only one person lived in the house. He sat up a little, wincing. Maybe he had just trained too hard and all of that was just one of the many bad dreams he tended to get. Or maybe-

"You're awake."

He glared at Yellow. "What are you doing here?" He tried to get up further and fell off the couch.

"I live here. I found you unconscious and injured at the edge of the forest and I wanted to help you."

"Really." He glanced at the female Pikachu sitting next to the young girl on the chair's armrest. "We'll see about that."

…

…

…

…

…

_Nothing_ Lance frowned.

"Chuchu says you have Team Rocket scent on your clothes and that you've been around the Viridian Forest Flowers."

Lance cursed under his breath. Not only did that flower have amazing healing qualities, it had equally annoying ones, too.

Yellow started to get up from her chair. "Maybe you should rest a little bit until you feel better."

"I can't do that. Those fools have my Pokemon. Don't be surprised; I know they're gone."

"Do you think Team Rocket took them?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. They're probably just toying with me so I'll go back to get my Pokemon and use them as hostages to make me help them find Latios."

"Why do they want it?"

"Him. Latios and Latias are able to bend light around themselves and either appear invisible or change their appearance. If they can control him, they can lure Latias; which would allow Team Rocket to force them to use their Sight-Sharing ability. They want to find the Viridian Forest Guardian."

"I didn't know the Forest had one…"

"Few do. My mother knew a lot about it and would often tell me stories. That was before-" Why was he telling her this? She didn't have to know anything about his personal life. He lifted himself back up onto the couch, wincing at how sore he was.

"If you're hungry I can get you something to eat."

Lance shook his head. He didn't need her sympathy. As soon as he rested enough he'd go back to the lab. Simple enough. It was only a day's…. flight. It took at least three days to walk there- if you knew where you were going. He had somewhat of a good idea where it was, but he hadn't been near there in a while and if he ever did go around there he'd read the minds of the Pokemon in the forest. And seeing that was near impossible right now…

He sighed softly, leaning back. He couldn't wait a few days, either.

"Are you okay?"

Lance sighed softly again. "I need to get my Pokemon back and it looks like I'm forced to have you help me."

**I'm working on chapter four right now. I don't know when I'll get it posted.**


	4. Chapter 4

Yellow stared in surprise, her Pokemon copying her expression.

"I can't read your Pikachu's mind right now. That means my powers have been temporarily disabled. In order to get back my Pokemon and stop this version of Team Rocket, I need them and you're the only one that can help."

"But…"

"I don't like it, either, but I can't wait until my powers come back. By then my Pokemon could have been used in experiments or it's even possible an emergency plan to make up for my not being there is to lure Latios into a trap."

"I'd be helping an innocent Pokemon get captured. I can't do that!"

"I'm not planning on getting it for them. Not that I'd be even able to."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Get my Pokemon back and blow up the base. If you don't help me and they get the Viridian Forest Guardian, than many, many Pokemon and humans will be in danger. We both benefit from it. I get my Pokemon back, and you protect the humans you've sided with."

"I don't know…" She scratched her Pikachu's head. "…. Chuchu? You think so?" The small Pokemon nodded. "Chuchu wants to help." She turned to leave. "Just let me contact Red-"

"No. The fewer involved the better. Too many people know that I didn't die on Cerise Island seven years ago." Which happened to be only about five people, including Yellow. Six if Gray knew about it, but with how ignorant he was, that wasn't likely. "Go and get what you need. It takes a few days go get there on foot."

"What about you?"

"I find everything I need in nature. If my Pokemon get injured I can… find the right berries…. When I get them back." The next few days were going to be very long, and very annoying. For the next fifteen minutes Lance entertained himself by watching Yellow frantically run back and forth, constantly forgetting what she needed and had to go back for it. Chuchu had done the same for the first ten minutes before she collapsed, panting. Hopefully it wouldn't be like this over the next three days. Eventually Yellow was finished packing supplies and food. _It really took _THAT _long to pack two small bags?_

"I'm going to let Green know I'll be out for the next few days." She began to leave.

"The Gym Leader? He's usually not here."

Yellow paused. "Well… yes…. But he got back from a Unova trip yesterday. If I don't say anything he might come looking for me."

"Fine. Go." After Yellow left he carefully got up and walked a few steps to get the numbness out of his foot. It got more and more uncomfortable with each, clumsy step. He stopped to look at pictures on the wall. Many of them were of Pokemon, ones that Yellow had caught and released –why she _wouldn't _want a Pupitar or Dratini he'd never know- along with pictures of her and other humans, some of them he recognized as Red, Green, Blue, and Silver. The other five he didn't recognize. The names were on a small piece of paper as a label, each had a name of a color or a precious stone. Why that girl needed humans as friends…. Chuchu stared up at him, walked up to him, and sat on his feet.

"What?" He picked up the Pokemon, momentarily forgetting he couldn't read her mind. "Why do you willingly stay with her?" Chuchu set a paw on her chin for a moment before pretending to scratch ears, back, and limbs, acting like it hurt to touch those spots. "You were injured… and she helped you?"

Chuchu nodded and her ears pricked as Yellow came back. "Green wasn't there so I left a note. I just need to leave one here in case Red or Blue comes over." She scribbled a note on her notepad.

"Do you always leave the doors unlocked?"

"Yeah, why?" She looked up briefly.

"…Nothing. Let's just go."

Chuchu returned to Yellow, sitting on her shoulder, holding the notepad as Yellow carried the bags. Once outside the small brick house Chuchu found a stick and stuck it though the note, placing one end inside the doorknob's keyhole so it would hang, nodding at her work. Lance just stared before moving on.

Yellow caught up to him. "Do you know where we're going?"

"We have to go North-West for two days. After that you'll have to ask the Pokemon in the Forest."

"You make it sound like you ask them all at once."

"You don't know how to sense the thoughts of multiple Pokemon at once?"

"No?" _Fantastic. _"Lance? I've never really done this before…. Do you know how to cook?"

…_Why didn't he just ask Yellow to contact Silver?_


	5. Chapter 5

"That isn't how you do it. Not that either!" Lance took away the two stones Yellow had been trying to use to start a campfire; her last attempt, if it succeeded, would have created too many sparks that would have lit the surrounding grass around the fire. He held the stones close to the small pile of branches and used one to quickly and roughly strike the other, getting sparks that slowly built into a stronger fire.

Yellow stared at him, amazed. "On your first try, too."

"We'll keep it going as long as we need to. Pokemon will be attracted to its warmth and may try to fight for it."

"Can't we just share?"

"Not with the aggressive ones. I can't detect their thoughts and that's the only way to predict their actions."

"I can read their minds."

"At a distance? Try reading your Pikachu's thoughts without touching her."

Chuchu was nibbling an apple and looked up at Yellow.

"How am I supposed to do this?"

"The same as usual. Just relax and concentrate while you open your mind to her thoughts."

"….I'm not sensing anything." She took an apple Chuchu offered, smiling.

"It takes practice. Even after you're able to it to prevent you from passing out each time you try." He accepted the apple Chuchu offered to him.

"You do it a lot?"

Lance nodded. "It's the only way I can be sure the Pokemon are safe." He remained silent after that, starting at the flames or watching Yellow draw in the notepad she seemed so fond of carrying around.

A twig snapped from behind, causing Yellow to freeze. A small group of Rattata warily rushed forward, staring at the humans for a moment before curling up near the fire. Yellow smiled and started drawing on a new page, looking up briefly every few seconds. After a few moments other wild Pokemon started to join; some male and female Nidoran, a Furret with three young Sentret, and even some Flying-types and wild Pikachu. Yellow kept adding to her drawing.

A tiny Pichu stumbled into the clearing and joined the other Pokemon, quickly falling asleep. After it, followed a Houndoom. The black Dark-Fire-type dog-like Pokemon growled, its already frightening appearance from its curled bone-like horns, bone collar, and whip-like tail magnifying. It howled, its call answered by many others. A small pack of Houndour surrounded the clearing, each growling.

Yellow glanced around. "What do they want?"

"The fire attracted them." Lance tried to continue when the dog Pokemon howled again.

Pichu's ears twitched irritably it glared at the Houndoom. "Chu!" It ran up to the Pokemon, leaped into the air, slapping its face with Double-Slap before it grabbed onto its horns, zapping it. It let go and glared at the larger Pokemon before jumping up again, an electrical sphere forming in its hands and launched it at Houndoom. The Pokemon got hit and started to back away, before it slowly fled, its movements jerky from the paralyzing effects of the Zap Cannon; the Houndour followed it. Pichu nodded and joined the other Pokemon once again and fell asleep. Yellow stared.

Lance got up. "We don't have to worry about them now. We can let the Pokemon stay here the night. Furret can use Water Pulse, so she can control the fire if she has to- I've seen her around here before. We'll be getting up early."

Yellow followed him to a tree. Lance pulled himself up onto a tree branch and leaned back against the tree. Yellow stared up at him, puzzled.

"It's safer you here than it is on the ground where more hostile Pokemon like Houndoom can attack you. Just have your Butterfree create a hammock with String Shot if you're really that uncomfortable sleeping outside." He watched the girl did as she was told and, with difficulty, climb the tree and into the makeshift-bed near where he lie. "You're used to sleeping indoors, aren't you?"

"A little. Do you do this often?"

"I feel more comfortable out in the open. Especially here. It's more peaceful than the noisy, bright cities." He turned away from her.

"Lance?" After a moment he turned slightly towards her. "Could you tell me a little about the Viridian Forest Guardian? Please?"

After a moment Lance responded. "No one knows what exactly It is, or where. It could live deep in the Forest. It's possible It isn't even here now, or alive."

Yellow frowned. "Why do you say that?"

Lance reached up and picked a leaf off of a branch. "Without the Guardian the Forest will slowly die." He rolled the stem between his fingers, making the leaf spin. "It's also because of the Guardian we received our abilities." He let the leaf blow away in the breeze.

"What If we find It before Team Rocket does?"

"If we do, we won't be able to convince It to join us. Like Ho-Oh, It doesn't trust humans. Team Rocket could have a way of controlling it…." He turned away again. He sensed something in the bushes below, staring at him. As it left its eyes glinted in the moonlight. Whatever it was, it wasn't a Pokemon that was normally in the Forest. It's presence was far too foreign for that, and far too powerful for a normal Pokemon.

He'd sensed this before…. So long ago….


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the wait. I haven't had much of a chance to get this typed on the computer; especially with another thing I'm working on. There is what you could consider good and bad news.**

**Bad news: This fanfiction is half over.**

**Good news: I plan on adding more to the chapters sometime to make it longer.**

**Future chapters won't be this long and the updates won't be that often because of my other writing projects; especially the special one.**

**If you see any mistakes I'd like to know since I was distracted while typing this.**

Sunlight filtering through the patches in the leaves above woke Lance the next morning. Judging by the shadows that were cast from the light it was around midday. Yellow was still sleeping, her hat covering her face. Her Pikachu was sleeping on her stomach.

Below the Pokemon that had been around the night before were gone and the fire had gone out long before.

It was too quiet… Not real silence, as many Pokemon were active, but the lack of hearing the Pokemons' thoughts and his own Pokemons'. They were usually awoke hours before he was and would often compete to see which got to wake him up; for whatever reason they did this he wasn't sure. And he had been grateful when that didn't happen….

He lifted himself off the branch and underestimated the fall. Pain jolted up his leg. He half held back the cry of pain.

Yellow rolled onto her side, slowly waking up. Her Pikachu was already awake and pulled her tail out from under Yellow's weight, pulling too hard and fell backwards out of the hammock, landing on Lance's head. Yellow stared down at them, blinking sleepily. "Hey…." She frowned. "Chuchu, what are you doing down there?"

"She fell and I caught her." Lance said. "Now get up. We have to leave."

Yellow yawned, blinked a few more times, yawned again and fell back asleep. Lance sighed, taking Chuchu off his head. "Is she always like this?" The small Pokemon nodded. "We have to leave. Can you wake her up?"

Chuchu nodded again and darted up the tree. She touched Yellow, using a light Thunder Shock. Yellow jumped and sat up, her hair sticking out in all directions. "I'm up." She sent out her Butterfree and the Pokemon carried her to the ground. "Hello." She smiled cheerfully.

"We're leaving now." He turned.

"Shouldn't we eat first?"

"We can on the way."

Yellow caught up to him, carrying her bags. Chuchu jumped from Yellow's shoulder to Lance's, offering a small bag filled with dried fruit, pieces of chocolate, and nuts. Yellow had her own bag and was happily munching the contents. Lance slowly ate his, saving the chocolate for last. When the bags were empty Yellow put them into another small bag. "How much further do you think we have to go?"

"I'm not sure. You'll have to ask the Pokemon that." He stopped and frowned. "Do you hear that? Two Pokemon are fighting."

"No…"

A bolt of electricity shot into the sky, followed by an irritated growl. Yellow ran on ahead. Chuchu tried to jump on her shoulder as she passed, missed, and fell to the ground, sprawled out with her tail sticking straight up. Lance sighed, annoyed by Yellow's actions and took three quicker steps forward before more pain spiked through his leg. He'd just have to ignore it for now.

It wasn't too difficult to find Yellow. Where ever the fight was she'd be, and with how the fight had increased in volume enough for half the Forest to hear what was going on….

A pink dinosaur-like Pokemon with large ears and covered in spikes ran at a blue and black lion cub-like Pokemon. Shinx ran out of the way of Nidorino's attack and swung its tail, using a Swift attack into the tree branches, causing several apples to fall and hit Nidorino in the head; one of them getting stuck on its horn. Nidorino glared at the small Electric-type and charged at it. Shinx ran ahead, stopping in front of a tree. It leaped into the air when Nidorino ran towards it with a Take Down. The Poison-type hit the tree hard enough to cause it to almost fall over. Shinx crawled into a nearby bush, poking its head out a little to see what was going on. Nidorino shook its head and glowered in all directions- except behind it. Several large bee-like Pokemon with drill-like hands almost half the length of their bodies flew down from the surrounding trees. Nidorino slowly backed away before fleeing. Once the Poison-types were gone Shinx came out of its hiding spot and trotted over to one of the apples, picking it up with its mouth.

Yellow walked up to it and held out a hand. "Do you want to come with us?"

Shinx stared at her with a bored expression and set a paw in her hand, giving her a quick, light jolt from a Spark attack. Yellow jumped, screaming a little. Shinx turned and began to leave until it got hit by Chuchu's Thunder Shock. It quickly turned around, growling at the Pokemon. It ran forward, static covering its body multiple times before it bit Chuchu's tail, letting off a powerful Spark.

"Chuchu!"

"You don't have to worry about it. Like most Electric-types Pikachu are able to absorb electricity with their tails and add the energy to their own." Shinx's attack got weaker before stopping completely, causing the Pokemon's eyes to widen. Chuchu zapped it back, nearly knocking it out. Shinx tried to use Spark again, getting no results. "It used Charge too often within a short period of time. It's going to take a while before its electricity builds back up." Shinx glared at him and ran towards him. He picked it up. "Stop it." Shinx let out a growl that sounded similar to a "No!" and tried biting his hand.

Chuchu hopped up and stuck another apple in its mouth, making it stop. Yellow took a few steps forward, holding out her hand. Shinx glared at her and whipped its tail, one of the four points cutting the back of her hand. Yellow backed away, holding her other hand over the injury. Chuchu glared at Shinx, screeching at it. Annoyed, Lance got a Pokeball and tapped it on Shinx's head, capturing it. He gave the Pokeball to Chuchu. "After he calms down release him in one of the deeper parts of the Forest." Chuchu nodded and looked at Yellow worriedly.

"Do what you can to clean it. I'll be right back." Lance walked away and didn't return for a little while, a blue flower petal in his hand, handling it carefully. He pressed it on the injury and wrapped a bandage that Yellow offered to him around it. "That will clear any infection and make it heal quicker."

Yellow noticed Lance's shallow breathing. "It affects you that much?"

Lance nodded. "I can't stay conscious for very long around the flower. It might affect you differently with the sedating effects."

"Sometimes I get them if I can't fall asleep at night. The scent is very relaxing." She smiled.

"We've spent too much time here. Let's go." He walked away again.

It took Yellow a moment to catch up with him. "Chuchu says it's going to rain and it's going to be bad."

"It'll be fine. The trees will give us cover."

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to collect firewood now and find a shelter?"

Lance sighed. _Unless he agreed Yellow wouldn't stop annoying him._ "Fine."

It took over two hours to find a cave suitable for a shelter and another few to find more firewood. _The storm couldn't be that bad, not this time of year. _The sky slowly grew darker, and as it did the Forest grew quieter. Thunder rolled in the distance.

"See?" Yellow said.

"…" Lance stayed still, his attention on how the air felt. "It's going to start soon." He picked up the large pile of wood he collected and followed Yellow back.

The downpour started just as they got to the cave. Yellow hurried in, pausing just before the slight drop between the ground outside and the floor of the cave. Lance did the same, his foot twisting awkwardly. He hissed in pain, resisting the urge to show any physical sign of the injury. He forced himself to remain expressionless and not limp, making no eye contact with Yellow.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" She rummaged through the pile of wood, finding several short, sturdy sticks. "Take off the boot."

"It's not broken."

"Take. It. Off." Her expression matched that of the only other person Lance knew that could make it: His cousin Clair, the Blackthorn City Gymleader. He did as he was told.

He watched in silence as Yellow used the sticks and a roll of bandages to create a splint that, although it reduced mobility considerably, the discomfort was relieved by quite a bit.

Yellow sat back. "How does that feel?"

Lance frowned. _Why was that girl talking like that?_

"I haven't done a splint on another human before. I've done it for Pokemon. Big ones, small ones… And casts. Sometimes for wild Pikachu I've had to make little crutches for them. They're all happy after that. For humans I've done slings. Breaking your arm hurts. Has that ever happened to you before? It's happened to me a few times. It's okay, though; the Pokemon didn't really mean it."

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am!" She smiled widely. Her eyes widened as a lightning bolt lit up the sky bright enough to illuminate the cave. "Wow that was a big one!" She ran to the cave entrance.

_What the heck was wrong with her? _While Yellow was entertained by the lightning Lance set up and lit a campfire. He glanced at Chuchu, who was still holding the Pokeball that held Shinx. "He's still irritated?"

Chuchu nodded. Lance stared at the Pokemon a moment and once again had to remind himself he couldn't sense her thoughts. He looked back outside. By how dark it was despite the weather it had to be past dusk.

Yellow gasped. "Wow, Lance, you're right! The thoughts of so many Pokemon is AMAZING!"

"What?" Lance stared at her.

"Hmm?" Yellow blinked sleepily and yawned.

Lance got up and gently shook her. "What did you say?"

Yellow stared up at him. "So… sleepy… good night." Her chin rested on her chest as she went limp.

Lance shook her again. "Yellow, don't fall asleep. Yellow? _Yellow. YELLOW!"_


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the wait. I had a nasty three-week+ writer's block.**

**If there are any mistakes I'd like to know.**

The next morning Yellow smiled cheerfully. "Good morning. You look tired."

"You got hyper from the Flower. Could you do what I asked you, read the minds of the Pokemon? You did it last night but passed out afterwards."

Yellow stared at him, puzzled. "I don't remember anything from last night."

_Great. _At least the rain had stopped. Lance got up. "Let's go while we still can."

"Aren't you tired?"

"I'm not going to collapse from exhaustion and I can think clearly." He set Yellow's hat on her head. "If anyone asks you're a boy and your name is Kiiroko.*****"

"….How tired are you?"

"I'm not." He took a few steps and stumbled a bit.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Kiiroko." He nearly tripped over a rock.

"Lance, just rest for an hour or two, alright?"

Lance shook his head. "Not while Team Rocket is after the Viridian Forest Guardian and have my Pokemon." He frowned. "Stop moving. All of you."

"Okay you need to rest." Yellow sent out her Butterfree. "I'll find out where we are and how much further we have to go while you do."

"You can do that while we go there."

Yellow tapped her Butterfree and nodded. The butterfly fluttered up to Lance and began flapping its wings quicker, spreading a fine silvery dust. Lance leaned against a wall for support and gave Yellow and irritated look before sliding down, falling asleep.

When Lance woke again he was outside in the shade of several trees not too far away from the cave. His cape was lying over him like a blanket. Chuchu sat nearby, still holding Shinx's Pokeball.

"Where is Yellow?"

Chuchu towards more trees with her tail.

"How long have I been out?"

Chuchu set her tail to her chin, her ears twitching. With her tail she drew four lines.

Lance sighed. _He lost four more hours…._ Chuchu drew two more lines. _Six…. _

_Because they lost so much time maybe he should just- _he reached for Aerodactyl's Pokeball, finding it missing, along with the others… again. He'd done the same thing the night and afternoon the day before. He sat up, leaning against the tree. He watched as some baby Wooper and Poliwag played in a puddle. It was so strange how Pokemon that young found amusement in just about anything, where the more adult Pokemon would prefer faster moving water, like how the river was. One thing about Pokemon that spent a lot of time or lived in water was that they usually had more laidback thoughts, compared to the frantic thoughts of Pokemon that lived on land. As he watched the Pokemon he was quickly reminded that he wouldn't be able to sense their thoughts, something he would have liked.

He looked over at Chuchu, his eyes widening. The Pokemon had drawn many more lines and was running out of room, looking really confused and spinning around, trying to find more space. She collapsed, her eyes spinning. She still held Shinx's Pokeball. The Pokeball rocked and Shinx let itself out. It stared at the lines around it, at Chuchu, and shook its head. It glared at Lance before it trotted by another tree, curled up, and fell asleep.

With both Electric-types unresponsive, it grew increasingly lonely. Because Lance didn't usually visit this part of the Forest, the wild Pokemon avoided him, watching him from a distance until he looked at them, sending them running away.

_What was happening to his Pokemon? They were probably worried about him. They did, after all, think it was their job to take care of him, especially Horsea and the female Dragonair. They'd always been there for him, and…right now…. He couldn't be there for them._ Lance closed his eyes, calming his breathing. _There were Water-types nearby, he could just- _Nothingness came when he tried sensing the Pokemons' thoughts. He curled up on the ground, screaming "why?!" over and over.

He flinched when something touched his arm. He opened his eyes, seeing Chuchu. The Pikachu looked concerned and started to lick his face, gently patting his arm with one paw. Lance scratched the Pokemon behind the ears.

Yellow ran over, looking freaked out. "What's wrong?!"

"Nothing. Bad dream." He sat up.

Yellow looked around. "What happened?" All around her were little lines.

"Your Pikachu was counting."

Yellow gave a confused nod. "Just before we left I was teaching Chuchu how to count." Chuchu nodded.

"How long was I sleeping?"

"Maybe three or four hours. The Pokemon said that the laboratory is across and down the river a ways. It should take only a day and a half to get there."

"Good." Lance stood up. He hid the exhaustion from whatever he had just gone through.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Lance nodded. "It's happened before."

"Okay…" Yellow noticed Shinx. "Are you going to release it?"

"I only caught him so he wouldn't cause more trouble and to calm him down." He picked up the Pokeball that Chuchu had dropped. Shinx glared at him, and sung its tail to use Swift to cut his hand. It ran, caught the dropped Pokeball and ran towards the river, jumping from stone to stone across it. It leaped onto a passing tree branch then onto a larger stone, only to find there was nowhere else to jump and it was surrounded by rushing water. It looked around and saw another rock that was the closest. If it could just make that jump… It ignored Yellow's shouts for it to stay, leaped, and missed.

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be updated. I keep getting writer's block.**

** *Kiiroko roughly means "Little Yellow". Kiiro means yellow, and "ko" has meanings such as "little", "small", and "child." **

**One example some of you might recognize is Nyanko, which means "Little Meow." (Although he's nothing like Yellow….)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I FINALLY got over my nearly annoyingly long writer's block for this and the credit for that goes to Kimiko Heroux. Last night she brought over a "new" DS game that was really fun and despite being released in 2009 its graphics are closer to some of the newer games, possibly even early 3DS. So I was all excited about that this morning, and then Mom ordered me one on the internet, so I was even more excited about that, and because of all that I got hyper from it, and then I used something I find that helps with writer's block: chocolate. So all of that helped.**

**Chapter nine might not be awhile, especially with some new projects I'm working on, including two that I'm really excited about.**

**And also some credit goes to KuraOkami13. The Lost Mermaid and Her Dragon chapter 13 helped inspire this chapter.**

Shinx hung onto the rock, its paws slowly slipping. Lance walked into the river, the water coming up past his knees.

"Isn't that dangerous?! I can use have Kitty get Shinx back!"

"No, that will only put your Butterfree in danger. Shinx won't risk using an electrical attack because he'll get shocked, too."

Yellow still didn't look convinced and followed him; the water would have come up to her waist if it were several inches deeper. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Lance turned to look at her. "Go back and wait for me."

"But-"

Shinx slipped, falling into the water, yowling as it was swept away. Yellow took one step in attempt to help it, her foot falling into a hole, making her trip into the river, the current too strong for her to fight. She screamed before disappearing beneath the surface. Chuchu ran back and forth along the edge of the river, screeching. Not too far from the Pikachu was the bag that held Yellow's Pokeballs….

Another large tree branch drifted by. Lance hung onto it to keep from falling under the surface. Yellow had managed to get her head above the water, though wasn't able to keep it that way for extended periods of time. She hung onto a tree branch that had gotten caught between two rocks, her exhaustion was clear.

_Now if she only hung on long enough for him to either get there or, if her branch came loose, until the river became more shallow, where she'd be able to get out of the water no matter how fast it was running._

A piece of a tree branch passed him, its broken edges smashed into Yellow's tree branch, breaking it into two splintered pieces. Yellow's half of the branch began rushing down the river, her weight making it tip and forcing her to fall back into the water. She stayed above the surface for just a few seconds before going under. Lance's branch just happened to be too long and jarred to a halt between two rocks. A large, heavy chunk of a branch hit one end of it, wedging it there.

Yellow still hadn't come back up… Lance dove under the branch, the current pushing him faster than before. He came to a sudden stop when his arm hit a rock. With his other arm he lifted himself up for air before diving back in. The next rock he nearly hit was a little taller and wider than the last. He tried lifting himself up, his arm collapsing and his hold loosened. With is good arm he lifted himself up and looked around.

There were fewer rocks, which meant this was where the river ran faster. If Yellow was unconscious and had gotten caught in that…. Just a short distance up the river was a cluster of reeds, some of them bent. Deeper within them were hints of a darkened yellow color.

Lance pushed off his rock towards the reeds, needing to grab onto a few of them to keep from passing. Now that he was closer he could see Yellow had, in fact, gotten caught in them. She was unconscious, and a gash was on her forehead. She had lost her hair band, her hair hanging messily around her. Lance managed to pull her out with his injured arm, needing the other to keep them above water.

For a moment he looked back at the swifter running water and let go of the reeds. The sudden rush of water almost caught him off guard, coming close to shoving him beneath the surface. He came to a sudden stop, pain jolting up his leg. He waited until the pain lessened before tugged his caught foot out of where ever it had gotten caught. _The splint must have been caught between two rocks… _He yanked harder, this time there were two cracks; one he heard and the other he felt. He half cried out, choking on water.

Water crashed over his head, surprising him and making him cough even more, unable to use his good arm to get them back to the surface because of the strong current. His vision began to darken as his lungs screamed for air. _No… _

Everything around him began to slow. Just as he started to lose consciousness the water began to rush again, only from the side in a burst so powerful it threw him out of the river and onto solid ground, the impact knocking the water and air out of his lungs and waking him up. He lied there, stunned, for a moment until he could breathe again. _What was that? _

He carefully sat up finding Yellow next to him, her breathing still shallow.

_"Pika!" _Yellow's Dodrio ran over, Chuchu sitting on its back with the rest of their things, including a water-logged Shinx. Chuchu leaped off and shook Yellow, screeching.

"I'll take care of her. Go help Shinx." Chuchu stared up at him, reluctant, before going to the other Electric-type. He looked back at Yellow. _Now what? _He glanced at Chuchu, the small Pokemon's actions of pressing on Shinx's chest and then breathing into its mouth was both helpful and not very encouraging at the same time. He slowly looked back at Yellow and hesitantly copied Chuchu's first action. _Why why why why why why why? Let this be enough…. _It wasn't. _Why….? _He sighed before copying Chuchu's last action.

Yellow coughed and jerked awake, banging her head against Lance's. "Ow…." She held her head and looked around. "Where…?"

Lance wrapped his cape around her. "You fell in the river and got knocked out. I'm not sure where we are now."

"You… tried to save me?"

"….Yes. I must have blacked out for a moment. I'm not sure what saved us."

"Oh…." She looked over at Shinx, it finally waking up, sneezed, and crawled over to her, shivering.

"I think he's going to behave now."

"Good." Lance carefully stood up and limped over to the Dodrio, getting Yellow's bag for her.

Yellow watched his movements. He answered her question before she could ask. "It's broken and yes I injured my arm."

Yellow looked at her Pikachu. "Can you find some short, sturdy sticks and a few long, slender ones that are strong?" Chuchu nodded and darted away. The small Pokemon came back a short time later with the sticks. Yellow motioned Lance to come over to her.

"If if isn't set properly it will heal wrong and have to be re-broken. We can just ignore-"

Yellow shook her head. "Kitty can use Psychic. That's how I fixed my broken leg." She looked up at her Pokemon. "Stun Spore and Sleep Powder."

The butterfly nodded and used the attacks over Lance's foot, making it lose all feeling. Its eyes began to glow and it used String Shot to help Yellow create another splint. It repeated the process for Lance's arm.

Lance smiled softly and then glared at Shinx. "I do not." A moment of silence followed. Lance looked back at Yellow, smiling again. "I heard his thoughts."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for taking so long to update. I had nasty writer's block with this for a while. It might be a bit rushed or not as good as the chapters before :(.**

**Because of a surprise plot idea that came while writing this I had to quick add a few hints.**

**And thank you to thechinskyguy for giving me an idea for this chapter.**

Lance slowly added more wood to the small fire until it was strong enough no to die out from the light rain. He looked at Yellow, who was sitting against a tree and was still wrapped in his cape, sipping an opaque liquid from a small cup. Chuchu sat next to her, digging through a small bag of rocks and other things she had found in the river.

"Are you feeling better?"

"A little." She took another sip. "What's in this?"

"Several different berries for warmth and shock."

Yellow stared down at the liquid. "What's the aftertaste?"

Lance hesitated. "Well…"* His attention turned to Shinx as it approached him with a few berries still attached to a twig, offering them. He petted the Pokemon's head. "It's not your fault. We're still alive." Shinx turned to look at Yellow, its ear drooping back. "She's fine. All she has to recover from is mild shock. I'm the one that's injured."

Yellow looked up from her drink, changing the subject. "Chuchu says she found two halves of a Pokeball. Do you think….?"

Lance tapped a Pokeball on Shinx's head and the Pokemon disappeared inside for a moment before reappearing. "Your Pokeball must have either been broken or destroyed. If you want I could recapture you." Shinx growled. "Fine." He put the Pokeball away. Shinx stuck out its tongue at him and walked over to Yellow, smiling and rubbing its head against her leg.

Yellow scratched its head. "Can you help us get Lance's Pokemon back?" Shinx set a paw on her leg, smiling. Lance frowned. Just earlier he had asked it that same question and not only had it yowled "NO!" it had given him a nasty shock. "Do you know where the laboratory is?" Shinx nudged Yellow's hand. "He says it's about half a day's walk from here."

"We can start in the morning."

"I thought you wanted to get there as soon as we could."

"You nearly died today. If you don't rest now you'll only slow us down."

"I'm _fine._"

"Not enough. Besides, Gray will be expecting me to come at night, probably _tonight. _If we wait until tomorrow we can catch him off-guard." He held a stick with wild vegetables stuck to it over the fire, slowly turning it.

"Okay…."

Lance looked back at her. Shinx wasn't there… An apple fell from the tree and he looked up at the lowest branch, which happened to be several meters up. Shinx was crawling on it, slowly inching towards an apple. _How did it get up there? It couldn't have climbed that fast… _

Shinx stopped, its full attention on the apple. It shook with anticipation before it lunged forward, missing the apple and sailed over the very end of the branch. Chuchu leaped up, her height just high enough for Shinx to crash into her, knocking her back down.

Chuchu got up, sighing, and walked beneath the tree, and with a thin, well-aimed Thunder Shock knocked down the apple. She caught it and set it in front of Shinx before returning to Yellow's side. Shinx narrowed its eyes at Chuchu, growling softly. Chuchu spun around and screeched at it for a moment. Shinx stared at her, shocked. It took its apple and went to sit next to the fire, watching Chuchu carefully. It jumped whenever the Pikachu suddenly looked at it. It jumped and shrieked when Lance tapped it. It took its apple into a hollow of another tree, where it stayed for the rest of the night.

The next morning Yellow finished backing everything they needed. "Are your arm and foot okay?"

Lance nodded slightly. "I'm not that weak."

Chuchu hopped onto Yellow's shoulder and called for Shinx. Shinx peeked out of its hiding spot and crawled out. It walked up to Lance and jumped onto his shoulder, the safest place it could be from Chuchu. It looked at everyone, who were looking at it strangely.

"… He says he can jump higher than most Shinx." Lance said. "And slower." He stared at it questioningly. Shinx shrugged.

"Is he feeling okay?" Yellow asked.

"He's just tired." Lance stared to walk away.

Yellow and Chuchu exchanged looks, not convinced. Yellow caught up with Lance. "If you want you can use one of my Pokemon when you need to save yours."

Lance shook his head. "You use them. They're not Dragon-types."

"But you'll need more help than just Shinx."

"I won't." Shinx turned to smile impishly at Yellow and Chuchu. "You're not a Dragon-type either." Shinx glared at him, slapping him with its paw. "You're an _Electric-type._" Shinx stuck its tongue out and looked away from him, glowering at the scenery.

"He wants to help. Be nice to him." Yellow said. Shinx smiled at her and glared at Lance again.

"When we get to the laboratory you can leave. I only needed you to get me there."

"I'm going to help you get your Pokemon back."

"…Fine."

Yellow walked a little faster, holding out a Pokeball. "Just take one Pokemon, please? I'll feel better knowing you had one with you." The Pokeball looked fairly new, as if she had recently caught a new Pokemon.

"I just told you I don't need it."

"But-"

Lance stopped and glared at her, his voice rising. "I don't need your concern. You've already slowed us down enough and because of you I have less of a chance to get my Pokemon back."

Yellow backed away a little, looking away from him. Lance looked away from her, seeing that his path was blocked by Chuchu, who was giving him a death-glare.

"Later, after I get my Pokemon back."

Chuchu narrowed her eyes. _'Fine. You better apologize. I know where you live.' _The Pikachu returned to Yellow, smiling cheerfully.

Yellow looked up, surprise coming over her face and pointed ahead. "Is that it?"

A distance away was a gray building….

Lance looked at Shinx. "You said…"

_'So what if I walk slower than you?'_

As they got closer the building appeared more and more abandoned. Lance blocked Yellow from walking further. _Something was wrong…._

Chuchu screeched and used Thunder Bolt, destroying a Shadow Ball. A Froslass appeared just as Gray came from where he had hid behind some trees. Shinx shrieked and ran off.

"You've brought her, just like I wanted."

"What?!"

"Only those with a kind heart are able to control Latios. You can't do that with Legendaries."

"You won't be saying that once I-" Something pierced his shoulder.

"Once you what? You won't be don't anything for a week."

The dizzy spell came much faster and harder this time, the last thing he saw before passing out was two more Froslass surrounding Yellow and Chuchu being defeated.

* * *

***I'm not sure where it was going while I was writing it. I had some form of an idea.**

**I did start chapter ten today, too, so hopefully it won't be a long wait. I should post it before the six-month anniversary of this fanfiction being posted. **

** If you have any ideas of how Lance should get his Pokemon back, what kind of Pokemon Gray should have, how Gray should be defeated, etc, you can suggest it. That might help give me more ideas to write the rest of the next chapter faster.**


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